It’s move-out month in Mars biggest city
City Cubby residents make room for newcomers
URBS VALLIS, Sept. 24 - Hydrologist Rohan Jumla carried all his possessions in the duffel slung across his back as he walked the 3.2 km from his communal home in the Cubbies, as the dormitories in the first section of the Hab Tube are called, to his solo apartment in the as-yet unfinished third section, or Hab 3.
“It’s a big change for me. I’ve lived in group settings like the Cubbies for all of my adult life, on an Earth orbital, on the L5 habitat, the journey to Mars, and here since I arrived in July 99,” said the 22-annos-old (42 years) Jumla.
Jumla’s move comes as City Residence is emptying out the Cubbies ahead of the Nov. 30 arrival of 2,500 new residents, most of them contract workers, aboard the regular supply train from Earth.
As of Sept. 25, only 367 people remained in the dormitories, all of whom will be assigned new habitations in WestHill or the three Hab Tube sections before the end of the month in 21 sols, Residential Supervisor Giulia Villanova said.
“Some of the newcomers will remain in orbit or bunk at Ares Port, but we still need to house 1,983 people and make sure the cubbies are cleaned and supplied and that everyone has new coveralls, work suits and emergency suits,” Villanova said. “They’ve all got their shipsuits, plus a couple changes of clothes and some miscellaneous stuff, but that’s about it.”
Jumla, who arrived in May 98 and came off his contract in November 100, had opted to remain in the cubbies two times over the last annos (Martian year).
“I had my choice of habs, but I like my work and I like living with other people,” said Jumla, whose build reflects his choice of exercise. “Plus it’s close to the pool and I swim every day.”
Jumla said he’d rather that someone who was eager to get out of the cubbies be given the opportunity. That included a female co-worker whose Cubby group was riven by social tensions.
“Mine’s been more like a happy family, and hers was an unhappy one,” Jumla said.
Opening the the door to his 6o cubic meter single in the new North End habs, Jumla sighed, but not because of the size.
The fully furnished habitation features one large room with a kitchen counter on one wall, a couch, two chairs and a built-in desk, plus a small alcove for sleeping and a washette with shower.
“It’s not the same as chatting with people when you’re making coffee in the morning or relaxing after work in the Cubbies,” Jumla said “I know I’ll meet people in the cantina and the gym and the walking path, but it’s going to seem very quiet.”
Perhaps not that quiet, as the Terrace 2 habitation is not far from the unopened cantina that had been used as an unapproved dance club, called City Speakeasy, that was shut down two weeks ago.
The bamboo grove near the cantina has since drawn musicians and residents for informal dances.
Rather than go for individual habs in the third section, agronomist Yora Tal and power systems engineer Andi (Andromeda) Ostrowski, decided to share a 90 sq m habitation on a higher terrace in the second section.
“We could have gotten a 100 meter place in the North End, but we liked this area better,” said Ostrowski. “It’s more of an established neighborhood, and we have friends who live on this terrace and some of the lower terraces.
The women, who both arrived in September 100 and still have more than 300 sols left on their transportation contract, said they were glad to not have to spend any more time in their cubby.
“It was okay,” Tal said. “We have friends there, but it’s not easy being social from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. The only place to get away is your sleeping pod, and there’s barely enough room for one person to sleep in those.”
“Which is a good thing,” Ostrowski added. “The pods are a shared space. There’s very little privacy and no one wants to share too much.”
Everyone moving from the cubbies to a shared habitation has to meet for an individual interview with City Residence to assess compatibility.
“We shared bunks on the long trip here and we’ve lived in the same cubby group since then, so yeah, we get along,” Tal said.
Their new hab features one larger room with kitchen counter, plus a couch and three chairs, two individual sleeping rooms and a small washette.
“The shower was bigger in the cubby, but it was shared,” Ostrowski said, “We had a good group so we could schedule shower times for women and men but it’s not always convenient, and mistakes happen—on both sides.”
The best part about their new hab?
“It’s ours, and we walk outside into a little terrace garden with a fabulous view of Tithonium Chasma,” Ostrowski said.
Tal added, “Yeah, it’s liking going from Earth to Mars every time you walk out your door.”
Next week, Starting a family in a new hab.
Boys’ rover joy ride ends, kind of as expected
2.5 seconds of flight lands six months of extra work
ARES PORT, Sept. 22 - Only their pride was hurt, excluding a few bumps and bruises.
A couple of City boys suffered only minor injuries in the abrupt end to the joy ride they took on a survey rover they snuck out of an Ares Port garage early Tuesday.
The boys, whose names were not released, did find a quicker way to answer the Physics One homework question: How far will a rover traveling 15 kmh go before hitting the ground if it’s driven off a 12m berm?
Perhaps that question would have been better answered before the two tried to jump the rover over a 30m wide gully, Ares Port Manager Ernesto Bosch said.
“They were ambitious, and enterprising,” Bosch said, “but clearly overconfident about the rover’s capabilities. They don’t fly.”
The rover was traveling about three times faster than the normal 5 kmh coming down a long slope about 20 km south Ares Port when it hit a small bump just before the gully and went airborne.
The boys, aged 8 and 9 annos (15 and 17 years), enjoyed a brief flight before the rover hit ground just over 10m from the edge and rolled over on the flat bottom of the gully, where it, and the boys, remained upside down.
“We are glad to know that the built-in safety features performed nominally, keeping the boys safe, even if they had to spend a few hours upside down,” Bosch said. “But we are definitely reviewing the security lapses they revealed.”
Those lapses include that the boys were able to get in the rover, drive it out through the garage airlock, and travel two hours before security was alerted by another rover that spotted them going off route at a high speed, for rovers, about 18 km south of Ares Port.
The other rover followed, but at a slower pace.
“They were easy to track, and when they rolled the rover, it pinged us,” Bosch said.
“They did identify a security flaw, which is that they were able to spoof the security system to open the rover and get it out,” Bosch said. “And we’re happy to welcome them to a half-annos weekend apprenticeship in the rover repair shop.”
About Tithonium Chasma
About Valles Marineris
Dust storm blows up
Welles, Shalbatana socked in
ORSON WELLES CRATER, Sept. 26 - The dust storm that started in Lunae Planum has grown more than fivefold to cover nearly 1.7 million sq km, reaching down to Baetis Chasma and intensified in the Shalbatana Vallis, according to Survey Mars.
Survey Mars reiterated that supply trains and survey crews in Candor, Melas and Corprates chasmata should seek shelter if possible.
The storm may continue to expand south to Ganges Chasma, about 2,600 km east of Urbs Vallis at the western end of the Valles Marineris, and threaten the eastern edge of Candor Chasma.
“At the rate it’s growing it could drop down into Coprates and cover another 800,000 sq km, but it doesn’t seem to be moving west,” Survey Mars spokeswoman Stella Regina wrote.
Regina said a Survey crew on an inspection tour in the Shalbatana Vallis had reached its destination and was seeking cover in the deep caverns in an area where another survey crew was trapped for six weeks earlier this year.
The crew was sent to inspect a community being built by Jeremiah Volcan, who led the building of the WestHill Terraces in Urbs Vallis.
Survey Mars has rejected the settlement claim filed by Volcan but has not specified the grounds for the rare rejection
The Shalbatana community has already built at last two intensively gardened habitats in caverns nearly a kilometer underground near a 900 m deep pit crater that they envision turning into a vertical city.
Orson Welles explorer Perpetua Heathering said Volcan has directed the Survey crew to a safe cavern where they can wait out the storm.
The Orson Welles community has sharply curtailed outdoor activities due to the intensifying storm, Heathering said.
“Right now, everyone’s focusing on underground, hunkering down and keeping their machinery out of the dust,” Heathering said.
(Eds: Corrects dust storm area in Sept. 20 story to more than 300,000 sq km)
About Orson Welles Crater
About Shalbatana Vallis
The case of the missing case
Was it at the City Speakeasy?
URBS VALLIS, Sept. 21 - City Safety officials have recovered a missing parcel containing a dozen bottles of the distilled alcoholic drink whiskey that was part of a high-value crate registered to DevCo Mars Planetary Manager Elric Balvicar.
The crate was brought to Mars from Earth orbit aboard the fast packet Caraval, which lost engine power en route to Mars and was towed into the Pontus Caelestis orbital in early August.
About half the parcels in the crate remained aboard the orbital, where Balvicar has an office and living quarters, and the rest were taken to his Ares Port quarters, an orbital security official said on Monday.
Balvicar’s office declined to comment, beyond calling it a private matter.
The missing parcel was among those brought to Ares Port, a City Safety official said.
“The half crate went into storage down here, and it was not until it was delivered that the missing case was discovered. We’re still investigating how the case went missing,” the Safety official said, adding, “We take all allegations of theft of personal property very, very seriously.”
Both officials declined to be identified, and would not say where the missing parcel was found, nor if any arrests have been made.
The discovery of the missing case of whiskey comes just two weeks after City Safety officials shut down an unsanctioned dining, drinking and dancing club, called City Speakeasy, in the unfinished third section of the HabTube.
The City (Urbs Vallis) officially continues to ban alcohol, Council President Claude Paddingbury reiterated at Thursday’s Council Meeting.
Alfwinna Webster, Mirihi Merced
Café au lait with a spectacular view of Ius Chasma
Geryon Montes coffee shop delights the senses
GERYON MONTES, Sept. 26 - The coffee was that good, and the view was even better.
When the outdoor tables filled up at the new Café du Mont here, residents borrowed some from the terrace outside what is to become the neighboring brewpub or juggled their coffees and pastries at the terrace rail.
Still, there was a bit of a wait, though residents made new friends by offering empty seats at their tables to others.
As busy as she was proprietaire Janine Depaysage was all smiles as she handed out bowl-sized cups of coffee and plates of croissants and other pastries to the residents waiting patiently in line.
“I’ve been up all night baking and prepping with my staff,” Paysage said. “When we opened at 7, people were already waiting outside, and it’s been non-stop since then.”
The cafe includes an small indoor bakery, kitchen and coffee shop.
The tables spread out onto the top terrace of Geryon under the sandglass galleria with an incredible view of the 8 km-high Ius Chasma north wall where majestic ridges rise between mega gullies and soar into the dusty Martian sky.
“I have to stop from time to time and remind myself that view is real. It’s so other-worldly,” said Depaysage, an agronomist who moved to Geryon earlier this year after the City (Urbs Vallis) rejected her proposal to turn an underused canteen in the HabTube into a restaurant.
A small detail brings the scene from otherworldly to neighborly. Outside the café, the menu is written neatly on a chalkboard easel, listing a few varieties of coffee and this morning’s pastries and baguettes.
Geryon resident and Ius Councillor Brynn Gibby stood against the rail, sipping her coffee as her two daughters ate apples turnovers and madeleines.
“I thought I was pretty good at making coffee,” Gibby said, “but mine’s not even close to this. And, I can see, we’re going to have to get more tables and chairs for the terrace here. It looks like half of Geryon came.”
The cafe was one of the businesses approved by the Ius Council in July as part of the expansion of the Geryon Agora that includes individual and shared spaces for independent businesses, craft shops and small restaurants.
The Agora expansion is an initial step in the plan to house an additional 10,000 people on Geryon Montes, a ridge that runs down the cent of Ius Chasma for more than 300 km.
That project would nearly double the Montes’ current population of 11,000, and includes terraces for farms and habitations along a 5 km stretch of the north slope of Geryon Montes in an area where it reaches about 5 km from the chasma floor. .
For now, the cafe is just open for breakfast, though Depaysage said she’d keep making coffee until early afternoon.
“I thought I made way too many pastries, croissants, brioches, madeleines and apple turnovers, for now, but we’ll be down to toast and jam soon, until I run out of bread, which won’t be too long now,” Depaysage said. “I can’t believe how many people came out, and I’m beyond happy that they like my pastries.”
Depaysage said she had intended the cafe as a community meeting place, and she’d clearly achieved that as people chatted in line, on the terrace and at the tables, among them musician and farmer Harper Liais, whose farm and habitat is on the chasma floor.
“I had a good long walk up, but it was totally worth it,” said Liais, sitting at a table for four with eight other people. “I’ve met so many people this morning, and we’ve all had too much coffee. But that’s a good thing, right?”
Calendar
AWOL Case goes to court Wednesday
Tithonia Superior Court holds a hearing Wednesday for a City industrial staff manager charged with helping more than 20 workers breach their transportation contracts and move out of Urbs Vallis.
Herman Zeiger, a staff manager at the industrial plant and factories between the City and Ares Port, attempted to flee the city but was held at the Noctis Grange Hall by local officials three weeks ago after arriving with a small group of tractors delivering cargo.
City authorities sought Zeiger after he failed to report for work and his apartment was found empty. was sought had left after he failed to report for work and his apartment was found empty.
Zeiger’s Court appearance comes as the Labor Council is investigating reports of more than 60 missing contract workers, down from 80 at the beginning of July.
The hearing begins at 10:00 in Tithonia Superior Court, Hab 1, Terrace 8
- Mirihi Merced, City Correspondent
Save a life. Get surfsuit certified
Keep new arrivals safe outside. Ares Port and City Safety are offering a four-week course in surfsuit for safety trainers. Get certified. Saturday afternoons. Ares Port Shuttle Terminal 1. Register through City Safety.
Fern fest
Frond-friendly Tithonia Gardens opens up its new fern forest house. Soak up the greenery and the deliciously humid air. From small forest floor ferns to not-quite tree frens, you’ll soak in the greens. Through end October. Habtube 2, Terrace 4
Neptune Blues
The Tithonia Museum is hosting an exhibition of an exquisitely detailed orrery with spheres that mimic the view from orbit of each of the planets. The distances and size aren’t to scale, since Jupiter, Saturn and the outer planets wouldn’t fit, but the detail is amazing. Held over until end-September. East Terrace 12
City farmers' market
Need zucchini? Want kale? Get to the City farmer's market. Stalls available by appointment. Industrial Tube Terminal. Saturday 0900-1500
Spike! Volleyball
Get ready to jump without worrying about the ceiling. Learn to play volleyball at the new Hab3 beach. Saturday, Sunday sessions 08:00, 10:00, 12:00. North Beach Hab3 Terrace 1
“The Lost and Found”
Quirky scifi threedee. Find out where single socks wind up and other odds and oddities, from human to alien. Stage 3. Hab 1. Terrace 8 Sept. 31-Sept. 37, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
Ray Guns
Kick up the electric music. Ius Forum. Friday Sept. 32 21:00
Samba Samba
Dance and learn to dance rhumba, salsa and samba. All ages. Families welcome. Bamboo Grove, Hab 3 Terrace 2 Saturday Sept. 33 14:00
City Social
Mix and mingle with new arrivals and old hands. Acoustic duo Harris and Fitz mixes strings with sweet harmonica and vocals. Hab 2. Terrace 4, by Tithonia Gardens. Every Friday 17:00
- Merry Grace, lifestyle correspondent
The Chaos Courier helps you over the rough spots.
Classified Ads
LIGHTING PRINTER STOCK. Formfit. Home, garden, sauna MSG NOCTIS 260 36904
JUMP START. Tractor Repair. Mobile unit available. If we can reach it, we can fix it. NOCTIS 260-22098
SURFSUIT. Repair. Upgrade. Added sheathing. URBS 269 71765
WALL GARDENS. Custom seeded and sized. Illuminate, water, grow, eat. IUS 278-14275
PLANT AIR MAT. Get cleaner air, ease scrubber wear. GERYON 278-72903
WELDERS. Experienced welders seeking space yard qualification. Ex-contract only. PONTUS 100 639
PLASMA SPINMASTER Compact fusion designs. CANDOR 286 25120
CONSTRUCTION All specialties. Some outside. Ex-contract only. GERYON 278 68034
CARGO TRAIN HANDS. Outdoor experience required. Ex-contract only. MELAS 285-77172
DRILLING specialists, supervisors and crew. Ex-contract only MELAS 285 13941
APPRENTICES Metal smith, forging, casting, 8 annos (14 years) and up. URBS 269-37728
APPRENTICES Fabrics production, design. 8 annos and up. URBS 269-98523
APPRENTICES Machine repair 8 annos (14 years) and up. NOCTIS 260 21188
APPRENTICES Machining. 8 annos (14 years) and up. CANDOR 286 53480
APPRENTICES Construction. Interior. GERYON 278 65689
SAMBA Find your rhythm. Samba Marte offers dance and percussion session. URBS 269 54391
BALLET Poise, strength, balance, beauty. URBS 269 62577
BALLROOM DANCING Let's Rumba! URBS 269 49144
YOUTH CHORUS. Want to sing? URBS 269 13930
STRING GROUP Seeks guitar, mandolin CORPRATES 295 98446
Previous - Sunday 20 September
The header photo is the iconic mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars from 2,500 km above the surface taken by the Viking Orbiter. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
The Candor Chaos Courier, Candor Chaos, Valles Marineris, Mars
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Photomosaic: Viking Orbiter: NASA/JPL-Caltech